In & Out:Bringing the World to Your Classroom

TAEA Conference 2015Presenter: Lucy Bartholomee

Artist, Writer, Teacher, Traveler

• Teaching Fellow and PhD student in Art Education/Art History at Univ. of North Texas

• MA in Humanities/Art History at UT Arlington

• Teaching since 1997– 3 years UNT– 6 years elementary– 3 years part time– 6 years high school

• All Level Art • PreK-8th grade all

inclusive classroom teacher (lifetime)

• Special Ed Pre-K-8th

• Gifted & Talented Certification

• AP Art History credential• IB Visual Art instructor• IB Visual Art Examiner

“In & Out: Bringing the world to your classroom, and bringing your classroom into the world”

Goals for this session

• Enhance multicultural richness in your classrooms with sensitivity and depth

• Enliven your students’ learning experience• Local and global ideas• Elevate your teaching enjoyment and effectiveness

“Get Up!”

• Research based on 2 years of study and 18 years of classroom teaching, 13 years of traveling to Europe with students

• Article under review by NAEA for their Art Education Journal

• Title: Get Up! Discover the Transformational Power of Living Curriculum

When they arrive in the art room, many students are coming from this…

“Get Up!”

• The sensation of sitting in the same assigned seat week after week, in the same classroom month after month, is so monotonous that we cease to notice it.

• “The challenge of the educator is to keep alive the mind and sensibility of the young child.” (Howard Gardner, 2008)

“Get Up!”• Students lose a sense of community as they

move through middle and high school – Sally Gradle

• The industrial model of educating students in large batches anesthetizes them – Sir Ken Robinson

• Art is a powerful tool to awaken our students and ourselves!

Culturally Rich Curriculum

• Art curriculum can be crafted to build sensitivity between classmates and others who are different in race, gender, religion, creed or privilege.

• Seek ‘Culturally Competent’ art curriculum• Reach beyond cliché representations • Sources: Lucy Andrus & Joni Acuff

Mexico / Central America:Curandero Books

• Before launching into a culturally based art project, research the specific culture

• Central America has been home to hundreds of culture groups over the centuries; let’s go deeper to find out more about the specific people who practice Curanderia (the art of curing, like a shaman or medicine-person)

• Curandero Bookinspired by cut paper or leaf acordion books made by Otomi Indian healers in Mexico

• Resource: Handmade Books for a Healthy Planet, by Susan Gaylord

Otomi Tradition• Otomi peoples live in an eastern-central region of Mexico• Date back to at least 800 CE• Remote, arid region where some pre-Columbian language and

tradition survive• Curanderos (shaman/healers) • Rustic bark paper processed into paper• Intricate cut-outs represent spirits• Rituals are performed to cure and prevent disease and improve life• Unesco Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX1mghWtnCo

• https://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/minigalleries/otomi/intro.shtml

Curandero Books

• Hold images and ideas that ‘cure’ feelings of sadness

• What makes you happy? • What people, places or things uplift your spirit?

• Fill the curandero book with these things. • Leave room to add photos and artifacts later on

Take your classroom out into the world

Rodin’s home, Paris

National Museum, Athens

• Paris/Normandy 2003• Italy 2004• London/Paris 2005• Spain 2006• Italy 2010• Rome 2011• France 2012• England 2015• Italy 2015• Greece 2016

Teaching while Traveling: Lucy’s Story

• Broadens your scope of knowledge and experience• Demonstrates professional dedication• Elevates your inspiration to keep learning

• Teacher Conferences– London/Paris 2001– Rome 2004 & 2009 – Greece 2012– Italy 2014– Cuba 2016

Professional Advantages

Bring France to your classroom: Rose Window Project

Bring France to your classroom:living curriculum

cathedrale-chartres.org

Bring France to your classroom

• Choose a Rose Window or Mandala pattern, or design your own!

• Trace the design on the clear plastic plate with permanent marker

• Include as much detail as you like• Paint the design– Not too much water– Colors are more vibrant when dry

Local: Add to the cultural experience

• Learn a few French phrases• GT students: make a poster to teach others about life in

medieval France / Europe• French food celebration• Play French pop music• Invite a French class to visit your art class• Hang the projects in a big window at school• Follow up with a repurposed glass project• Scavenger hunt: students take selfies with stained glass

in their own communities

Global: Teaching while traveling• Drawing class in a café in Montmatre• Pastel drawings while in Monet’s gardens at

Giverney• A delicious Pizza making workshop in Rome• Pottery workshop in a village in Greece

Local & Global

• Find ways to connect with your community, such as art centers, historical societies, and charities

• Investigate local cultures and utilize people from those cultures (guest speakers, working artists)

Local & Global

• International educational travel– Museums, architecture, historical sites– Living curriculum

• Personal encounters with amazing art• Service learning programs• Global perspectives • Economics, Politics, Language• History comes alive• Energized by constant comparisons with their local

community

Where you lead,they will follow.

Lucy’s students on the streets of Pompeii, 2015

(Students from Arlington High School, a Title I school in Texas)